The Mother
by FanGirl0207
Summary: Steven was left by his mother when he was little. After many years, they finally arranged to meet again. Steven wanted to prove to his mother that he's doing fine without her, however, Lance is not helping, and nothing is going the right way.


**The Mother**

"It's all your fault!" Steven yelled, "You're sleeping on the couch tonight!"

"Listen, Steve, let's talk about this, okay?" Lance tried to calm him down, "I don't know why you're so mad-"

"You don't know? You really don't know? Then just go to hell!" He yelled again as he loosened his tie and tossed it away, before picking one of the two pillow on the bed and tossed it at Lance's face.

Lance caught the pillow, and stared in shock, "Wait, I know okay, I know why you're so mad!"

"Then are you ready to apologize?" Steven asked as he folded his arms and stared at him with contempt filling his eyes.

Lance paused, "Could you just tell me what I did wrong?"

"…. Get out of here."

Lance took a moment to think, before finally nodding, "I'll wait until tomorrow morning then… Good night…"

Steven slammed the door as he pushed his boyfriend out of the room, before throwing himself on the bed and closed his eyes, his mind wandering to exactly five hours ago…

* * *

Five hours ago...

Steven frowned as he read over the proposal document, before finally looking up at the young scientist, "What is this?" He asked with a voice that clearly indicates he did not like what he just read. The nervous scientist was about to speak, before Steven cuts-in, "I did not ask for your answer!" He shouted as he threw the document carelessly on his desk, "I have entrusted you with the best team in the whole corporation, and this is the only thing you can come up after six months? What the hell have you been doing? While you're sitting lazily and enjoying your life, our competitors are making fortune out of their new ideas! I don't want this! Redo it, and I want a new concept on my desk tomorrow morning, got that?"

The scientist familiarly referred to as Alan nodded, before taking back his proposal document, and walked out of the room.

Steven grinded his teeth as he looked out of the clear window, mind jumbled up with many thoughts. He anxiously glanced at the clock hung on the wall of his office, which indicates that lunch time is nearing. With a sigh, he puts off his square-framed glasses and walked out of his office. Every employee in the corporation could sense their leader's mood on that particular day, and threaded carefully around him, for fear that he might explode if given the right trigger.

Steven adjusted his suit and tie a bit more comfortably, before walking out of the Devon Corporation building, and headed his steps towards the local restaurant. For the past twenty-two years of his life, he had grown accustomed to the town, the people around him as well as that small family restaurant his mother used to take him when he was just a small boy. After his mother left him with his father, he still visits the place alone, bonding with the friendly man who owns the place as well as his son, Jake, who will inherits the restaurant one day. And now, after thirteen years of being separated from the woman he used to love so much, he's finally going to meet her again, in that small restaurant.

He was nervous, and frustrated. He never really likes his mother, nor does he care about her anymore. If only his father hadn't insisted he should go and see her, he would never ever even think of seeing her face ever again. After years of feeling betrayed and abandoned, there's one thing he kept in his mind like a basic survival rule; his mother is not a woman that he can trust. His father though, kept in contact with her, and when she finally found a decent man, she decided that it would be good to rub that fact on their faces, and Steven has to be burdened with the obligation to meet her after such a long time.

When he entered the shop, he was quickly greeted by Jake, "Steve! Good to see you here! Your mother is waiting…" He whispered the last line as he pointed to the woman who was sitting at the corner of the family restaurant, with a feisty man sitting right next to her.

"Thanks," Steven said as he high-fived his old friend, "Wish me luck…"

"Will do bro, will do…"

After thirteen years, his mother hasn't changed much, except for the few wrinkles that's beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. She has cut her wavy brunette hair, as he noticed, and adopted a bright look on her face when she saw him. The elegant, slender woman rose from her seat and walked over to him, her wedgies clacking softly as she did so.

She flung her arms around him and pulled him into a warm hug, "Steven! It's been such a long time!" She whispered as she landed numerous kisses on his cheek, before pinching his cheeks lightly, "How have you been doing?"

"I'm well, Sophia…" Steven replied, "How about you?"

She beamed, "I've always been great!" She chimed, "Come on, let me introduced you to Ray," She pulled him towards their table, and brought him closer to a handsome man around his late forties, simply dressed for the occasion, looking somehow strong and proud.

Steven offered his hand, which Ray took with a firm grasp, "Nice to meet you, Ray."

Ray smirked, "Nice to meet you too young lad. Rest assures that I've been holding onto Sophia like a lifeline."

"He can never go anywhere without me," Steven's mother added mischievously, and the two couple exchange a naughty look.

"I'm glad to hear that…" Steven continued, before taking his seat across from the two couples, and scanned the menu.

"You seem to be a nice young boy, are you taking over your father's corporation one day?" Ray asked, trying to stir up a decent conversation as he too read the menu with much interest over the specialties.

"It seems obvious enough…" Steven replied, "I've been officially introduced as the heir several months ago."

"Ah, I see… It must've been tough for you. After all, you're young, and I could understand that there's still so much you wanted to see…"

"No, I don't mind at all… The company will always do fine, with or without me. I have plenty of time pursuing my goals."

"I heard you're collecting precious gemstones from your father," Sophia suddenly joined the stiff conversation, "You're just like him, passionate over the weirdest thing… Oh, Ray is a collector too, you know!"

Ray proudly smiled, "I'm a Pokemon Collector, been hunting for exotic ones ever since my younger days."

Steven glanced, "Interesting… Are we ready to order?" He diverted the conversation and signaled for Jake to come over and take their orders. His old friend occasionally gave him a questioning nudge and look, but then stopped when he realized the tense look on Steven's face.

"So, tell me what you've been up to…" Sophia asked after Jake left. "I haven't heard much from your father ever since he told me you're having some problem with your sexual preferences. Are you over that?"

Under the cover of the table cloth, Steven's fist tightened, but he forced a calm look over his face, "I've decided on that. But I don't think it has anything to do with you."

"So, how was it? Are you really… Homosexual?" Sophia sounded anxious, whispering the last word with much cautiousness.

Steven sighed, "Yes I am, but I don't think this is a topic we should discuss right now."

"Oh sweetie, don't say that. You know that I'm really concerned…" She leaned forward to her son, with desperation is clear in her eyes.

Steven shook his head, "It has nothing to do with you, a woman I barely knew." He coldly replied.

"I'm still your mother!" Sophia argued.

"Wrong, you are not my mother. You are just a woman who happen to gave birth to me and left. I have no intention of taking you as my mother."

Sophia involuntarily gasped, "How could you talk to me like that? Now I see, your father didn't educate you well enough, am I right? Steven, you were in my womb for nine months! I am the woman who gave birth to you!"

"Dear, stay calm," Ray whispered to her as he holds her down, "This is no place to argue over this…"

"No, my own son, talking to me like that! It's unacceptable!" She exclaimed, already attracting the attention of some of the customers in the restaurant. "Did your father teach you to be this disrespectful towards me? I should've known… That bastard."

"My father has nothing to do with my decisions…" Steven replied, "He is a supportive, understanding man. I could not see the reason as to why you would leave him in the first place."

"Sophia, dear…" Ray held her back from bursting out, "You have been absent ever since he was little. He has every reason to say that…"

The fiery woman finally gave in, and huffed out loudly out of frustration, "I just hope you end up with someone nice, and loving," She grumbled unhappily. "May the lord bless you… Who knows what kind of person you'll end up with…"

Steven perked up at those words, feeling downright mocked by the woman. His eyes narrowed slightly, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just trying to say that… You are a real man! You need a real woman, and not some sort of man who likes to pretend to be a girl given the right chance!"

"I can assure you, my boyfriend is not someone like that…" Steven clenched his fist tighter, telling himself that it was a really bad idea to come to this meeting in the first place. "He's a courageous, honorable man…"

"I'm just saying, okay?" Sophia defended herself. She was about to say more, when suddenly, their orders finally arrive.

Steven kept the frown on his face as the three began slowly enjoying their meal. Feeling the tense atmosphere between mother and son, Ray decided that it would be wise for him to do the talking from that point onward, and Steven couldn't be more grateful for the man. Ray was nonetheless a pleasant man to converse with, and Steven found some of his stories about his journey amusing.

"I want to meet your boyfriend then…" Sophia suddenly demanded out of the blue.

Steven remained cool as he sipped his drink, "He's a busy man. I don't think he'll have time…"

"Then call him, I want to talk to him and hear what he's like…"

"He's busy…"

"He'll spare time for a simple call from you, wouldn't he?"

Steven kept his cold gaze fixed at the woman as he took out his phone, "One call, and after this, I don't want to hear anything from you anymore about my sexual preference, or my boyfriend." He dialed the number; put the phone on loudspeaker loud enough for the three of them to hear.

_"Hey, if you're looking for Lance, he's not here at the moment…"_ A girl's voice resounded, _"He left his phone in my place last night. If you see him, tell him his phone is with Karen."_

"Wait the minute, who are you? Where's Lance?" Steven asked, an odd feeling suddenly surged throughout his body.

_"… I'm his wife!"_

* * *

The next morning...

"Steven! It's Karen you're talking to!" Lance reasoned, "What do you expect? She was my girlfriend, before I met you, but I broke up with her! We did have sex, but I never marry her! She said that because… Because that's Karen. She loves making people feel miserable!"

Steven rubbed his aching head as he grumbled, "Whatever… It's stupid of me to call you anyway…" He sipped his morning coffee, which was made unusually bitter, eyes angrily fixed at the carpet for no reason. "I was humiliated for God's Sake! In front that woman!"

Lance sighed as he rubbed his aching neck, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have left my phone in the Indigo League…"

"You bet you shouldn't!" Steven snapped, before pouring the content of his mug at the sink, not liking the bitterness at all.

However just then, the doorbell rang. Lance got up from the couch to get the door, while Steven tried his best to fix his looks before meeting with whoever it is that dare to come at such a inconvenient hour.

"How dare you do that!"

Steven perked up when she heard that familiar voice. He made his way swiftly to the door and, to his greatest surprise, found his mother standing there by the door, looking as furious as a woman could be.

"I don't know what you're talking about, lady! I don't even know you!" Lance retorted, brows furrowed slightly out of annoyance. As he folded his arms and leaned against the door.

"What are you doing here?" Steven demanded loudly as he pushed Lance aside, "You were supposed to go back to Sinnoh!"

"Steven, no matter what you say, you're still my son, and I can't bear the thought of you hanging onto this… this jerk who marries another woman behind your back!" She stated and invites herself inside, with Ray following her close behind.

"I can take care of myself!" Steven exclaimed as he walked inside, towards the kitchen counter, and prepares another cup of coffee for himself, "I have been taking care of myself for the last thirteen years! Without you! What makes you think I can't handle my boyfriend?"

Sophia hatefully glared at Lance, who could only watch with a dumb look in his face, "Steven, I know you think that I don't care… But I cared for you! Why do you think I bother to exchange e-mails with that father of yours every month, even though I don't love him anymore? Because I still care for you!"

"Then why don't you e-mail me instead? Why should it be through him?" Steven snapped, "You could've called! You could've come and visit me or something! But what did you do in the end? Nothing! And you're telling me that you still care?"

Lance could only watch as the two exchange furiously, one trying to reason with the other. Lance and Ray glanced at each other, and at that moment, the two of them wondered if they really should be there at the moment.

"You are as stubborn as your father!"

"At least he doesn't leave me when he's sick of me!"

"I wasn't sick of you! I left you with him because I was young and foolish! Now I realized my mistake, and if there's some way that I could make it up to you… Steven, please…"

"Steven, listen to her," Lance advised, "She's sincerely speaking."

"Don't interfere Lance, go back to Karen!"

"For your information, I was never married," Lance said to Sophia, hoping to calm her down a little by saying so, "And believe me, Steve… Listen to her."

"You don't know anything!" Steven shouted at him.

"Steven, my mother died when I was six," Lance informed, "I spent my childhood hating her for doting on me too much, I spent my teen years hating her for leaving me behind, and the last three years regretting everything I didn't tell her! Now I keep on wishing I had one last chance to tell her what she means to me, even though I know I will never get that chance ever again! And here you are, acting like the spoilt brat you've always been and…" He trailed off when he realized that his voice is faltering. "… Damn, I'm weak…" He muttered, before entering their bedroom, slamming the door loudly and locking it.

The room was overwhelmed I silence, each of them trying hard to understand Lance's feelings, before Ray finally decided to speak, "He seems like an honest man to me… I think I've seen him before somewhere…"

Steven nodded weakly as he leaned against the counter, heart suddenly overtaken by guilt, "Yeah, he's the Leader of the Elite Four in Kanto and the Champion in Johto… He's considering on giving up those two positions though… He said he wanted to focus more n the G-Men and the Kanto inter-regional Security Service…"

"He must be really famous then…" Sophia commented, "Is he a strong trainer?"

"Very… He specializes in Dragon-types Pokemon…" Steven replied calmly, before realization suddenly dawned upon him, "He's an orphan, raised by his grandfather… He gets lonely often, so that's why he sleeps next to his Dragonite every night!"

Sophia sighed, "I've misjudged him then…"

"And I've been treating him badly too…" Steven muttered as he fixed his eyes at the bedroom door, "I'm such a bad person, aren't I?"

"… I've been a bad mother too…" Sophia replied, "I'm sorry, Steven…"

Steven heaved out loudly, "Doesn't matter now, does it? After hearing something like that, who would be heartless enough to stay mad at his own mother?"

With teary eyes, Sophia walked over to Steven, and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm sorry… Please forgive me…"

Steven, for the very first time ever, returned her hug, "… I'm sorry too, for everything I've said…"

He didn't know if he just made a big mistake, however, her warmth that slowly seeps into him removes all those kind of thoughts out of his head, calming him for the first time ever since twenty-four hours ago when he received the notification the she's coming over.

* * *

"Here's yours…" Steven offered Lance the glass of warm cocoa, before cuddling up next to him on the sofa. He laid his head on Lance's chest as he fixed his eyes on the television, before he finally said, "Lance… I'm sorry if I've been thinking about myself all these times…"

"No big deal…" Lance replied as he gently stroke through Steven's hair, "I was being too emotional today… You know, with your mother coming and all that stuff… I was… Kind of mad probably, to see that you have what I've always wanted, but you're throwing it away…"

Steven nodded, "Sorry, I never considered your feelings…"

"It's fine…" Lance whispered as the movie came to an interesting part.

Steven paused for a moment as he listened closely to the dialogue, before asking, "… How come you never tell me anything about your parents before?"

Lance shrugged, "Because I see no point of talking about the dead with you…"

"… What happened to your father?"

"He died on the day I was born. Many said he died in some kind of fight to protect our Dragon Clan, other said he was taken as prisoner and tortured to death. He was a brave man, I heard people said, though none can tell me what kind of father he could have been…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Don't be…"

Their attention was returned to the screen when one of the most touching part of the movie appeared. Steven, unable to hold himself any longer, finally asked the question, "Have you ever thought about raising a child?"

Lance smirked, "Don't joke around… There's no way we can raise kids. You're busy, I'm busy…"

Steven smiled, "Forget it then."

"Besides, who's going to be the 'mother'?"

"Definitely you," Steven replied after a few moments.

"Wait, what are you talking about? If there's anyone going to be the mother, it's you."

Steven made a face as he pulled away from him, "No, you're emotional than me, it has to be you."

"Having an explosive temper doesn't make you the better man, I topped you on sex!"

"Well, topping me on sex doesn't mean you're the better man. I work longer hours than you."

"My work is much more dangerous than yours."

"My work is more important than yours. Devon is the foundation of Hoenn's economy!"

"But the G-Men and the ISS are the foundation of morality and society. Without society, there would be no economy."

"It's not a fact, it's just your opinion…"

"… You're always the sore loser, aren't you?"

"I never lose."

The two decided to stop and continue to watch the movie in silence.

"... You'll be the mother."


End file.
